1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the general field of cutlery. More particularly, the invention disclosed herein relates to knives and relieving pressure on finger joints.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present invention is particularly applicable to the culinary industry and to one who typically uses knives for cutting or performs a repeated cutting motion and will be described with particular reference thereto.
The continuing concern among those in the culinary industry and among routine knife users is relieving pressure on the metacarpophalangeal joint of the index finger of one who is using a knife for cutting, and who is pressing down with the underside of the user's index finger on a top portion of a knife. Over a period of time, the pressure applied to the metacarpophalangeal joint of the index finger will cause a user of a knife to experience joint stress, strain on the bone, and arthritis. This affects the hand of the user of the knife and greatly impacts use of the hand through everyday living.
The prior art teaches various types of gripping handles for use with various types of tools or implements. These gripping handles provide a grasping surface for manipulation and allow an intended user to manually use the tool for its intended use or function.
Various types of grips exist for a user to engage a knife to perform a cutting motion. Most, if not all, of these grips involve activity of the finger joints, namely, the metacarpophalangeal joint of the index finger. When the hand that is engaging the knife is tightly clasped, for example, the muscles of the hand remain in tension and the muscles and metacarpophalangeal joint of the index finger are tightly compressed.
The goal of any handle or grip is to promote efficiency such that the hand is maintained in a comfortable position, and also to avoid placing substantial external pressure and internal pressure on the hand, fingers, or finger joints. Moreover, a further goal is to facilitate the function of the hand, muscles and fingers as they work together to perform a cutting motion.
Conventional implement gripping handles suffer from a number of drawbacks. One such drawback is that conventional handles typically only allow the use of a hand to grip the knife such that the finger digits maintain the handle against the palm of the hand.
In situations requiring both power and precision, such as during various types of culinary operations, precision using conventional handles is typically achieved at the cost of excessive compensation by the hand, wrist and arm of the operator with resultant potential risk for various types of injuries, including repetitive stress-type injuries.
Another common drawback associated with conventional gripping handles is that they typically do not fit the hand well, allowing only a limited surface area of the hand to contact the gripping handle. A user is hence required to exert a greater amount of strength to adequately grip the handle and perform a given task. Furthermore, this creates high pressure points on the small portion of the hand contacting the gripping handle, which again potentially leads to injuries.
Another drawback associated with conventional gripping handles is that they are poorly designed for certain types of movement such as sawing, slicing, or cutting. In addition, conventional handles poorly conform to the configuration of the index finger, and, hence, the external force applied when the knife user presses down on the knife in a cutting motion may quickly lead to discomfort and/or injury.
More recently, ergonomic handles on implements have been introduced to the culinary industry. Ergonomic handles usually are curved and may contain bumps or finger grooves within the handle so that the handle fits smoothly into the hand and clasped fingers of the user. Ergonomic handles help to maintain the natural arcs of the fingers and palm for the natural accommodation of the hand, which enables the hand to conform to the handle. In conforming to the natural hand anatomy, a handle of this design becomes more comfortable for the user to hold or rest his hand on, and may aid some users with a more stable, secure and comfortable grip. Some ergonomic handles allow for the fingers to be flexed separately at the metacarpophalangeal joint according to the normal physiological flexed alignment of the user's hand.
Even with ergonomic knives, however, the user feels pressure in the metacarpophalangeal joint of the user's index finger. Due to the flexed nature of the index finger during cutting, pressure is still applied on the user's metacarpophalangeal joint when the user initiates a downward cutting force on the knife. Consequently, those in the culinary profession or routine knife users continue to experience pressure, injury, and arthritis in their cutting hand, and more particularly, in the metacarpophalangeal joint of each user's index finger.
Those in the culinary profession or routine knife users usually spend continuous amounts of time cutting food or other materials. When using a knife to perform a cutting motion, the user applies pressure to the knife in a substantially downward fashion. This force, in turn, impacts the metacarpophalangeal joint of the user's index finger. With continuous, repeated use of the knife in a single session, the stress on the metacarpophalangeal joint leads to injury and pain, including arthritis, and therefore impacts and disrupts the user's culinary practice or routine use of the knife implement.
Despite the existence of many types of culinary handles to facilitate the function of the hand and relieve repeated stress and injury to the user's hand and fingers during cutting, the culinary industry and routine knife users continue to experience pressure on the metacarpophalangeal joint of the user's index finger.
Accordingly, there is a need for a new and improved knife that specifically relieves the pressure experienced by a knife user on the metacarpophalangeal joint of the user's index finger as the user performs a cutting motion. In addition, there is a need for a knife that provides better and more advantageous overall results in terms of extending the length of time a user is able to comfortably perform a cutting motion, and of the ability of a user to utilize the knife over time. It is a general object of the present invention to provide such an improved knife.